
soul with God Himself: Love is that which unites us with God; joy, which
means the thanksgiving and the consciousness of God's infinite goodness, in
which we live and move; peace, whereby we are at rest with God, and in
ourselves, and with all mankind. Then there are the fruits which have rela
7
tion to our neighbor; and the first is patience. Do we bear with our neigh-
bors? Are we irritable, revengeful, resentful, malicious? If so, the fruits of
the Holy Ghost are not in us. . . . Long-suffering is another name for
patience. Just as equity is the most delicate form of justice, long-suffering is
the most perfect form of charity, the perpetual radiance of a loving heart,
which, in its dealings with all around, looks kindly upon them and judges
kindly of their faults. . . . Gentleness means kindness and forbearance, the
dissembling of wrong, the absence of the fire of resentment and of the
smoldering of ill will. Next comes goodness; as a fountain pours out pure
water, so the good heart is perpetually pouring out goodness and diffusing
goodness on all around. Faith means veracity, so that a man's word is as
good as an oath. And then, lastly, there are certain fruits which have rela-
tion to ourselves. They are, first, modesty, . . which is both within and
without—modesty of bearing, modesty of conduct, of dress, of demeanor, a
chastened and sensitive regard for others, in all that is due from us to them,
which keeps us from obtrusiveness, and from transgressing the delicate con-
sideration which is their right. Temperance or continence means most espe=
cially the repressing of passions—the passion of anger, the inclination to
pleastire, to honor, to wealth; it is the transparent purity of the soul, and
the custody of the senses, because they are the avenues to the soul by which
sin enters. Such, then, are the fruits of the Holy Spirit."—The.
Biblical Il-
lustrator,
Galatians, page 387.
9.
What are the blessed results of exercising diligence in adding
these Christian virtues? 2 Peter 1:8; John 15:8.
NOTE.—"Permanence of character:
'If these things are yours.' . . .
Depth of character:
'And abound.'
Reality of character:
'They make you to
be not, idle nor unfruitful unto the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.'
. . . Whatever permanence, depth, and reality become ours as the result of
diligence, the outcome will be an increasing experience of our Master, and
an ever-deepening fellowship with Him."—W. H. Griffith Thomas,
The Apos-
tle Peter,
pages 254, 255.
10.
How does Peter express the sad experience of those who
lack these virtues? 2 Peter 1:9.
NoTE.—"Lack of spiritual perception:
'Is blind, seeing only what is near.'
Nearsighted Christians are a sad and sorry fact in the Christian church. This
weakness of spiritual sight, insight, and foresight is always due to unfaith
=
fulness in Christian living. . . .
Loss of spiritual privilege:
'Forgotten • the
cleansing from his old sins.' The awful possibility here indicated is almost
too terrible to contemplate. To think that a man should actually forget the
moment and early experiences of his conversion and joy of salvation. Yet
all this is clearly regarded as possible,
and as resulting from unwillingness to
`add diligently after the reception of God's gifts.' "—W. H. Griffith Thomas,
The Apostle Peter,
pages 255, 256.
11.
Having specified the danger of losing our spiritual eyesight,
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